Valve-clamp.



A. S. VOGT.-

VALVE CLAMP.

APPLIOATION FILED MALM, 191s.

Patented Feb. 17, 1914.

. PW m w, W m z e AXEL SAMUEL veer, OFVALTOO'NIA, P ENfiSYLVANIA', AssIeNonro coats nurrnun AND SAFETY VALVE COMPAN OEIBALTIMORE, 'MARYLAND, A. coaro'rm'riou or NEW JERSEY.

' VALVE-CLAMP. a

- Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Feb, jjzjljfi fl j hpplication filed Ear h 14, 1913, Serial No. 754,198." g

To all whom it may concern 7 "Be it known that I, AXEL SQ 'Voe'r; a subject of the King of Sweden, residing at Al-,

toona, Blair county, State of Pennsylrania,

have invented certain new and useful Improvements-in Valve-Clamps, of which the following is a specification. t

This invention relates to .a

use of steam boilers require frequent tests of safety valves, andeompliance at these tests with "certain standards of. efficiency in the actionrotthe valves, particularly that the valve shall pop at certain definite pressures determined by :the other features of the' plant, as the pressureatwhich the boiler is to be used, etc. 1 The regulations also re-"- v quirethat steam boilers shall be tested by hydraulicpressure at regular intervals. The pressures employed at such tests are ofcourse higher than the steam pressure to. which the boilers are-normally subjected,

and to maintain the pressure; the. safety valvemust be closed-in some wayto' with? standthe testing pressure. This is accomplished in various ways, the most. primitive of which is to screw down the valve .and' compress the spring until its tension is sufficientto withstand the hydraulic pressure. \Vhen this method is employed itis exceedingly ments for valve tests as be regained by marking them and return ing them to their original position, but also the spring is justing screw is ment of the safety valve has been changed re-adjust it. Various disa's-, trous results have followed such oversights;

and neglect to To avoid the necessity for re-adjusting the valve' and also to prevent in ury to the valve in testing the boileryvarious engineershave adopted the practiceof removingthe clamp or tool- ,for use in connection Wlth. safety valves and.

the valve in?" 'diflicult to comply with the requiretheparts are notonly thrown out of'adjustment, whichmight distortedsothat when the ad returned to its original position, the pressure at which the valve pops valve tinny at... its position onthe boiler; andclosing the apertureby means ofaqscrew cap or; plug. To thus remove, the valve-is expenslve andundesn'able; for the steams tight oint' which has I been established be};

tween the f'valve base and the boil er, connec .tion is broken, and "to replace the valve and" establish a tlght'jomt involves considerable expense of time and efi'ort.

The device of the present invention is con structed with a view to overcoming the var'i' ,ous difliculties described. It is independent. of the valve spring and serv es to, positively -clamp or1ock the valve onits seat. 1; Fur

-1 e1 ',uit is so constructed that it may be P1;

pliedia'nd removed from the valve .without in any way disturbingl the adjustment," and when itis in operation, distortion of the I spring from any causeis impossible.

The clamp or lock includes a. member adapted to be passed through the-valve casingto engage the valve proper, and hold it on its seat together with an external clamp 1' for holding the internal memberin. position. 1 This latter member is; ofdimensions sufil-f' eient to attract the attention of, any casuali observer, s0 that its presence on the valve Icannot'be ignored andthe .ch ancethat th lock. orclamp may be left on-the valveshy c any ordinary inadvertence on the partfof .85

the'attendant is. so smallthatlit may l be considerednegligible. r

The various safety valves n'commonuse are constructed with an adjusting screw or.

bolt in the center of the cap by means of which the tension of the. spring is adjusted.

This bolt may be provided with. a central,-

aperture extendingits full length, through which a portion of the steam released by the valveescapes. Infthe case of; valves, which are not provided with such an aperture it will be easily understood; that one can bored at a comparatively slight cost. In

the device of the invention avertical p n or. red is passed downward preferably through this aperture in the direction ofth'e axis of the valve and forced at its lower end against the top "of thevalve or some member,

' bearing directly-thereon,so that the rod serves 1 to, hold the valve positively against its. seat.

Near its upper end the rod is threadedand passed through a correspondingly threadedaperture in the body, nut or shank member of the clamp, which in turn is provided with ous' as possible to the end that it shall not be overlooked when steam is to be gotten up. The accompanying drawings illustrate a safety valve to which a lock or clamp, con- I structed in accordance with my invent-ion,

has been applied.

Figure 1 is a vertical, central cross-section through the valve and the body of the clamp showing the jaws, lever, etc. in elevation. Fig. 2 is an elevation of the clamp looking from the left in.Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a plan of the clamp;

Referring to the drawings by numerals, each of wl ich indicates the same or equivalent parts in the different figures, the safety valve illustrated consists of a valve proper 1 engaging a seat 2, the valve being normally held in its seat by means'of a spring 3, the tension of which is adjusted by means of a screw or screw plug 4 engaging a threaded aperture 5 in the casing and the term safety valve, as used herein, refers to this or an equivalent structure. The term valve proper refers to any member having the prime function of applicants member 1,

2'. e., which serves to close the valve or seat opening in a safety valve. The plug has a central, axial aperture 6 through which is passed thexthrust rod 7 of the looking or clamping device to be described; This consists of a nut or body member 8 with which the rod 7 has a threaded engagement, the latter being threaded at 9-to engage corre- .sponding threads 10 inthe aperture 11 in the body or nut 8, and the latter is provided with a radially-placed arm or hand lever 12' which may be manually'engaged by the 0 erator to prevent rotation of the nut as t e thrust rod is turned to apply the necessary pressure-to the valve as hereinafter described. To take up the re-action of the thrust applied to the valve, the nut is suitably supported as by hinged jaws 13 pivoted at 14; in slots 15 provided to receive the jaws, and the latter are suitably notched or toothed at 16 at their lower extremities to engage the square head 17 on the upper end of the adjusting screw. It will be noted that when the jaws are in engagment with the nut, as shown, the up er, inner faces of the jaw levers are incline upward and outward, that is, they diverge, and to hold the jaws in operative position, as shown, any suitable means as the collar 18 is provided.

This encircles the rod 7 near its.v upper end,

sliding up and down and is adapted to enter the space between the upper ends of the jaws to holdthem inoperative position, as shown, at the will of the operator. To turn the rod and move it relatively to the nut 8 and apply the necessary thrust to the rod and force it downward against the valve to lock the latter in position, it is provided at its upper end with a convenient grip shown in the form of a cross arm 19.

The operation of the device will be apparent from the description taken inconnection with the drawings.

When a test of the boiler is to be made and it is therefore found advisable to lock the valve, the clamp, being in approximate adjustment, is placed in position on the screw or bolt 4, the rod 7 being thrust downward through'the axial aperture Gtherein- The head 17 of the adjusting screw is engaged by the jaws 13, the teeth 16 of which are passed under the lower flat surface of the head. In this position of the jaws the collar 18 is slid downward between their upper extremities, locking themin position. Then the lever 12 being held in one hand, the rod 7 is'turned by means of the crossbar 19 until the rod is forced downward against the valve or the saddle 20 thereon. lVhen the device becomes rigid so that the screw refuses to turn under ordinary pressure, the valve is locked. Any sort of pressure test to which the boiler may be subjected can then be carried on without danger of injury to the valve or variationof the adjustment, and when the test is finished, the clampcan be-conveniently removed by reversing the operation described, first loosening the rod 7 by a turn or so of the cross bar 19 and rod 7, then raising the collar 18 so that the jaws 13 are released, following which the clamp may be raised, lifting the rod from the aperture in the screw. It is apparent that in this Way the valve isclamped and released without in any way. disturbing its adjustment or varyingathe tension of the spring, and that it may thus be locked against possibility of opening under any probable testingpressure. Thus re-v moval of the valve orchanging the ad'ustment for this purpose is rendered entirely unnecessary.

An important feature of the device is that the external body of the clamp, which is always in view of "the attendant, is so constructed that it is easily. apparent so that no experienced person in charge of the plant could by any possibility overlook it and inadvertently leave the valve clamped when the boiler'is under steam.

I have thus described specifically a single embodiment of my invention in order that itsnature and operation may be clearly understood, However, the specific terms here-- in are used in their descriptive rather than in their limiting sense and the scope of the invention is defined in the claims:

I claim-- 1. In combination with a safety valve having a valve proper, means for use in boiler tests and the like for positively looking the valve proper on its seat, the same consisting of a rigid'member independent of the valve proper, and means for rigidly supporting said member in contact with the outer side of the valve proper.

2. In combination with a safety valve having a valve roper, a valve seat, a spring, and means or adjusting the same, means independent of the spring for positively locking the valve roper on its seat.

3. In combinati n with a safety valve having a valve roper, a valve seat, a spring, and means or adjusting the same, means independent of the spring in the form of a vertical thrust rod for positively locking the valve proper on its seat and means for holding the rod rigidly in position at one end resting on the valve proper.

4. In combination with a safety valve having an adjusting screw with an aperture therein a valve proper, means for locking the valve proper on its seat consisting of an upright rod extending through the aperture and engaging the valve proper, and means for applying thrust to the rod and holding it under compression.

, 5. In combination with a safety valve having an adjusting screw with an aperture therein and a valve proper, means for locking the valve proper on its seat consisting of a rod extending downward through the aperture toward the valve proper and means for forcing the rod downward and holding the valve proper on its seat consisting of a nut having a threaded engagement with the rod, an arm by which the nut may be held to prevent rotation, swinging jaws on the nut for holding the nut in fixed relation to the valve casing, means for holding the jaws in operative position, and means on the 'rod whereby it may be engaged to rotate it.

6. In combination with a safety valve having an adjusting screw with an aperture therein a valve proper, means for locking the valve proper on its seat consisting of an upright rod extending through the aperture, and means for forcing the rod downward to hold the valve proper on its seat consisting of a nut having a threaded engagement with the rod, means for holding the nut in fixed relation to the safety valve frame, and means on the rod by which it maybe engaged to rotate it.

7. In combination with a safety valve having a valve proper an aperture extending in the direction of the throw of the valve proper, a rod having an aperture disposedin the direction of the throw of the valve proper, a rod extending through the aperture, and means for forcing the rod against the valve proper, thereby placing and holding the rod under compression and locking the valve proper on its seat.

8. A clamp for safety valves consisting of a conspicuous, external member, and means controlled thereby extending within the valve casing and engaging the valve proper the said means being in the form of a rigid member bearing on the valve proper and means for supporting said member.

Signed by me at Altoona, Pennsylvania, this 26th day of February, 1913.

AXEL SAMUEL VOG'I.

Witnesses:

B. C. MCCORMICK, J. T. HANLON. 

